Glee rips off (among others) Jonathan Coulton's arrangement of "Baby Got Back"

Yeah, this is a total scumbag move.

Glee has been shit since like mid-season 1, anyway. Just die.

Wow.

That's messed up. I don't like the show, but this, given their "anti-bullying thing" is the last thing I thought they'd try to pull. Their original arrangements were bad enough, IMO, with the exception of four or five songs.

Are any of the actors or artists speaking out against this?

Seconding Smish with "WOW" and adding in "WHY?"

Why do something like that?

Classless.

thebloodfiend said:

That's messed up. I don't like the show, but this, given their "anti-bullying thing" is the last thing I thought they'd try to pull. Their original arrangements were bad enough, IMO, with the exception of four or five songs.

Are any of the actors or artists speaking out against this?

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He's probably the first one because everybody else that's been showcased on the series (Madonna, Lady Gaga, et. al.) hasn't said anything.

Last night I dreamed I was climbing a high metal fence in order to trespass on a big fancy estate. A hippopotamus appeared below me, then turned around and explosively defecated against the fence, making the whole structure shake with a metallic rattling thunder. Hippos are filthy animals.

But about Glee: I can't imagine why they wouldn't give credit. Seems very unprofessional. (Note: Jonathan Coulton don't use no Autotune.)

I honestly forgot the show was still around. Aren't all the kids in college by now, or working at Kinko's?

I kept watching the show for a while because I hoped the cheerleaders would do "Oh Mickey" with Toni Basil's choreography. (They haven't, have they?)

BenPanced said:

He's probably the first one because everybody else that's been showcased on the series (Madonna, Lady Gaga, et. al.) hasn't said anything.

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I meant actors or artists in the show. I was wondering if any of them who've taken anti-bullying stances in RL, like Chris Colfer and Amber Riley and Jane Lynch, have actually spoken against this kind of practice.

Can someone explain why a song like BABY GOT BACK would even be used on GLEE? It's...weird.

Jehhillenberg said:

Seconding Smish with "WOW" and adding in "WHY?"

Why do something like that?

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Why do people steal anything?

It's cheaper. It's easier. It requires less effort. Maybe they were desperate given that fewer musicians are buying into their "it's a music education show" pitch.

The idea that they may have merely altered the original instrumental tracks and aired them without any contact or compensation to the original artist is a pure slime ball move. It's not as if Glee isn't making a helluva lot of money. Pretty sure they could afford not stealing music.

Does anyone else who watches the show find some of its attempts to address sensitive minority "issues" sort of offensive at this point? It's like they are half-assing it now, and it is not going over well. I cringe at some point almost every episode I see.

Gale Haut said:

Does anyone else who watches the show find some of its attempts to address sensitive minority "issues" sort of offensive at this point? It's like they are half-assing it now, and it is not going over well. I cringe at some point almost every episode I see.

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I've felt this way since the middle of season 1, waiting and waiting for Mercedes or Tina to get their own solid plotlines like Rachel or Finn or Will. But I'm mostly disturbed by how they've presented bulimia and skimmed over the very obvious depression and co-dependence Blaine is experiencing. At this point, I would not be surprised if they brought back Dave without any mentions of his suicide attempt to be a love interest for Blaine. For every step forward, it's like two steps back.

Gale Haut said:

Why do people steal anything?

It's cheaper. It's easier. It requires less effort. Maybe they were desperate given that fewer musicians are buying into their "it's a music education show" pitch.

The idea that they may have merely altered the original instrumental tracks and aired them without any contact or compensation to the original artist is a pure slime ball move. It's not as if Glee isn't making a helluva lot of money. Pretty sure they could afford not stealing music.

Does anyone else who watches the show find some of its attempts to address sensitive minority "issues" sort of offensive at this point? It's like they are half-assing it now, and it is not going over well. I cringe at some point almost every episode I see.

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I shall direct you to Glee's AW thread then.

Jehhillenberg said:

I shall direct you to Glee's AW thread then.

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The show's inability to meet public expectation and their free fall in ratings are worth considering if you want to know why they are stealing intellectual property.

So now I have yet another reason to hate GLEE...

I just bought the Jonathan Coulton version, the one that Glee stole, and tweeted/Facebooked about it. Artists support artists.

dragonjax said:

I just bought the Jonathan Coulton version, the one that Glee stole, and tweeted/Facebooked about it. Artists support artists.

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I'm tempted to buy it to. It's like taking a novel and copying it word for word, that's how alike the tracks are. Crazy how they line up.

thebloodfiend said:

I'm tempted to buy it to. It's like taking a novel and copying it word for word, that's how alike the tracks are. Crazy how they line up.

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It's an incredibly sloppy theft, at that. Instead of saying "Mix-a-Lot's in trouble" like the original the Glee version says "Johnny C's in trouble" which was obviously what Jonathan Coulton said in his cover.

This show is a train wreck.

Yeasayer said:

It's an incredibly sloppy theft, at that. Instead of saying "Mix-a-Lot's in trouble" like the original the Glee version says "Johnny C's in trouble" which was obviously what Jonathan Coulton said in his cover.

This show is a train wreck.

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I need to wean myself off of the show. I don't even enjoy it anymore, and the blatant disregard for recording artists is galling. Ryan M. (or whoever signed off on just taking this version of the song) went too far.

The hilariously dickish dick move of telling JoCo he should be grateful for the exposure, while failing to credit or mention him...

Wait. You're saying Glee has turned out to be crap?

Wow. Wish I'd seen that coming from the first ad I saw for it a couple of years ago.

Yeah, that's seriously messed up.

If I still watched "Glee," I'd stop.

Though, funny note. A couple of years ago, one of the groups did an arrangement of "Bills, Bills, Bills" and I got really excited that Glee was doing a JoCo song. I figured he had finally hit the big time.

I had no idea that the song I thought was his was actually a cover.

I loved Glee during the first and second seasons. It has since disappointed me, and I don't watch it anymore. This nonsense doesn't really surprise me, I guess.

My interest in the show had been waning throughout this season, but after this stunt I'm out. The first couple seasons were good. Interesting, different, enjoyable. Then it got too popular and nose-dived, in my opinion.

Oh well, more time for me to write!